Lohengrin

"Lohengrin" was premiered in Weimar in 1850 under the direction of FranzLiszt. The performance was a triumph for the composer, who, however, wasunable to attend: he had been exiled for taking part in the 1848 uprisingsin Dresden. Director Götz Friedrich took this historical background intoaccount by having the radiant knight appear at the end dressed in black - asymbol for the dashed hopes of the German revolutionaries. The politicalmessage, however, generally pales before the aesthetic power of the imageswhich depict the Middle Ages in a totally abstract manner. As Lohengrin,Peter Hofmann gives a performance that is dazzling in every gesture andevery tone. Karan Armstrong replies with a very lyrical timbre and appliesexpressionistic means to convey sorrow, wonder and the bitterness of leave-taking. This production by Götz Friedrich was recorded at the BayreuthFestspielhaus in 1982.